| |
|
Due to the universal messages
of survival, freedom, and sheer determination of the human
spirit, Anna Christake Cornwell has been invited by Greek-American
organizations as well as cultural and educational groups to
conduct readings and presentations about her book both locally
and abroad. Following are a few brief excerpts from reviews
of her book and notes received about presentations related
to Only the Birds are Free:
“I hate to put the book down…the way you present
the story is inviting; your use of dialogue is excellent. In
one sense, you’re economical with your use of words, but,
on the other hand, you give so much information…I just
want you to know that I think the book is well written, informative
and interesting.”
Augusta Severin
“…gripping, lyrical, wonder-filled, a
must, must read…an outstanding book that chronicles the
author’s experiences in the resistance movement against
the Germans in World War II.”
Eseis, a Greek-American magazine
“Gripping, extremely interesting…it must be read
The perceptive and insightful account of the tragic events the
author lived through deserves high praise—unquestionably,
her soul is a ‘Free Bird’!”
Regina Pagoulatou, Greek author
“(The author) carries
in her soul the dreams, the unfulfilled aspirations and betrayal
of our war-beleaguered land during the (Nazi/fascist) occupation.
She vividly portrays the struggle of great fighters and unsung
heroes who joined the struggle for freedom from foreign oppression.”
Nikos Pashalidis, Greek author and literary critic
“I have finished your book and am overwhelmed. First,
I cannot believe
the amount of suffering you and your family endured. I know
war is
hell,
but you describe if so very graphically. It should be required
reading
for anyone contemplating a war with Iraq or anyone else. Second,
your
courage and heroism was remarkable. To have been given such
great
responsibility by the partisans at such a young age and to have
done
your work so well attests to what a remarkable woman you have
always
been. I’m very proud to have you as my friend.
Third, the insights into Greek culture, religion, class structure
and language your book provides us with again makes it must
reading for anyone. How little we know about Greece and its
people. Yours is a very rich description of that life. Fourth,
the history of Greece you impart is very enlightening. I know
nothing about the revolution of 1821, its significance, and
its 400 years under the Turks. The pitiful outcome of WWII and
the harsh treatment by the allies and “collaborators”
of the partisans is shocking but not surprising. The book is
a powerful read. Congratulations! .”
Ruth Bennett, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
“A memoir, a powerful primary source of the Nazi occupation
of Greece during World War II. Anna—a young teenager when
she joined the resistance—as an adult, recalls those experiences.
A harrowing tale of fleeing, hiding and narrowly surviving…”
Janet Wahl, Ph.D., educational consultant, Westchester
County, New York
“Thank you for
sharing your dangerous memories. I now understand war a little
better because of your memories.”
Middle school student, Westchester County, New York
“I
was so pleased that you agreed to talk with the students about
your memoirs and about your experiences in Greece during the
War. I know they were particularly interested since your visit
coincided with their study of the period.”
Karen Jenkins, Middle School Cultural Arts Committee,
Dobbs Ferry, NY, PTSA
“When you were telling your story, I felt like
I was there.”
Elementary school student, Westchester County, New York
In an Arts Education evaluation conducted by the Putnam/Northern
Westchester BOCES in the 2001/2002 school year, Dr. Cornwell’s
presentation on her book attracted 130 fifth grade students
and six teachers who rated the artistic and educational quality
of her presentation, and her artistic interaction with the children,
“very good” and “excellent” in all categories.
Comments of Jennifer Goodrich on the book
“What could possibly happen?” the ten year-old
narrator innocently wonders toward the beginning of this remarkable
wartime memoir. Over the next three hundred pages of Only
the Birds Are Free; the Story of a War Child in Greece, Anna
Christake Cornwell relates, with devastating precision, how
everything could and did happen to her family in Nazi-occupied
Greece.
As the book opens her father departs for America, promising
to send for Anna, her mother and her brother. War intervenes
and they find themselves stranded, forced to depend on the
charity of relatives. They endure bombing raids and every
imaginable terror and hardship as they flee from villages
to monasteries and mountain encampments seeking safety from
the blood baths of the German raids. No sanctuary lasts for
long, and their story becomes one of multiplying disasters.
Cornwell’s language as the young voice of Anna (Ionna
in the book), is lively, lyrical, and at times fierce. The
perceptions of this brave and imaginative girl hold the reader’s
attention so powerfully that we relive her experiences-we
too run wildly away from the Stukas airplanes that strafe
the feeling villagers, see the unbearable aftermath of land
mines and slaughters of entire towns, take solace in the stilled
beauty of the Zdani Monastery, and know what it is to be devoured
by cold, hunger and illness to almost the point of death.
We dodge through a torrent of bullets in a desperate escape
into wintry mountains, and scale a narrow, moonlit path at
the very edge of a crevasse.
But the reader also revels in memories of happier times and
moments of ephemeral joy. We witness a pre-war religious holiday,
full of feasting and celebration, see the awakening of early
spring at the Zdani Monastery, and share in Anna’s spiritual
contemplations from an icy, starlit precipice. We marvel at
the miraculous survival of a geography schoolbook which she
had stowed under a rock while fleeing yet another temporary
home. Ultimately, Only The Birds Are Free is not a bleak book,
but one that presents a moving vision of hope against all
odds.
Perhaps the most stirring passages concern the young Anna’s
involvement with the partisan struggle and her determination
to play a strong role in the youth liberation movement. Eventually
she becomes a member of the youth resistance leadership, taking
on harrowing but inspiring responsibilities. Her journey in
the course of this story is an inner as well as an outer one,
and we watch her evolve from a spirited, precocious child
into a fervent fourteen year-old revolutionary.
In this memoir we find a bracing reminder of the realities
of war, and a vivid rendering of its miseries and atrocities.
Only The Birds Are Free is an important book for any time,
but it takes on a special significance now as we contemplate
a potential U.S. invasion of Iraq. I am especially thankful
to have read it in our own uncertain and anxious time.
The artist Allen M. Hart created the cover for
the book and Adam Hart did the graphic design.
|
